Project Description
What is this study about?
We want to understand what it’s like for adult friends, family and partners (unpaid carers) who support people living with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities in England. This will include looking at the challenges that these carers face, how they cope, and what kind of help they need but might not be getting. In this study either the carer, the loved one living with suicidality, or both the carer and loved one could identify as LGBTQ+.
Why is this important?
People in LGBTQ+ communities are at high risk of having suicidal thoughts and feelings due to factors including discrimination and social isolation. People caring for others in LGBTQ+ communities often deal with additional stresses because of their caring responsibilities and may not get the support they need. However, not much is known about the experiences and needs of friends, family and partners supporting loved ones living with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities.
We want to know more about the experiences of these carers so that we can begin to understand the impact of their caring role on them, what helps them, and what makes their situations more difficult. We can then make suggestions for how to better support them.
Who is doing this research?
The study is jointly run by two researchers based in a university (London School of Economics), one researcher working in mental health social care, and three researchers who are experts by experience. We’re working with Derbyshire LGBT+ and are supported by a Research Advisory Group that includes people with lived experience of supporting loved ones with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities together with people who have expertise in suicide prevention, local authority mental health social care and working in LGBTQ+ community organisations.
Methods
What will the research involve?
We’ll interview 30-40 carers and ask 5-10 carers to keep diaries about their lives, their caring role, and the support that they personally receive or need. We’ll also interview 10-15 representatives of mental health social care, LGBTQ+ organisations and carers groups. We'll create ‘personas’ that describe the experiences of some 'fictionalised' carers supporting loved ones with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities, and will hold workshops with carers, support organisations, and mental health practitioners to check that these personas are accurate.
Who can get involved in the research?
We’d like to talk to English or BSL-speaking adults (18+) with experience of caring for someone at risk of suicide, who have not recently been bereaved through suicide and are not themselves living with suicidal thoughts and feelings. They, the person they care for, or both they and the person they care for should identify as LGBTQ+.
How will we share what we find out?
We'll share our personas with local government and national policy makers, the voluntary sector and the public to help shape future national and local suicide prevention policies with an emphasis on supporting unpaid carers of people living with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities.
Aims
What is the aim of our research?
Our goal is to find ways to better help friends, family and partners of people living with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities through improved mental health social care that recognises their experiences and needs as carers.
Further Project information
If you would like to be involved in the study, please leave a voicemail on 0207 106 1420 or email the study lead, Jessica Carlisle, at J.Carlisle@lse.ac.uk
Principal Investigator: Jessica Carlisle
Funder: The National Institute for Health and Care Research is funding this study through the Research Programme for Social Care (Grant Reference Number: NIHR207639).
Research Team: Sadika Asmal, Louise Blakley, Clare Bracewell, Michael Clark and Dan Stears
Collaborators: Derbyshire LGBT+
